Instruments for detecting and imaging the power of incident electromagnetic radiation, for example thermal or infrared (“IR”) radiation, are becoming increasingly important for a variety of commercial and non-commercial applications. For example, thermal imaging has been used to detect changes in temperature in or across physical constructions such as buildings, bridges, and power lines. In such applications, an increase in temperature may be indicative of impending failure. Similarly, thermal imaging has numerous medical applications, military, surveillance, and other imaging applications.
Various devices exist that may be utilized in an instrument to measure incident electromagnetic radiation. These devices may be implemented in infrared detectors, for example, a thermal imaging camera or bolometer. In such devices, incident electromagnetic radiation may be measured via the heating of a material with a temperature-dependent-electrical resistance (e.g., resistive bolometric sensors), or in some cases with a temperature-dependent structural deformation characteristic (e.g., thermomechanical bolometric sensors). One problem with the existing approaches is that ambient radiation may saturate these conventional bolometers, making it difficult to detect a small change in electromagnetic radiation emitted from an object. Accordingly, it would be advantageous for devices that detect radiation emitted from an object to reduce the effects of the ambient temperatures and thermally isolate the various components of the detectors.